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When it comes time for lease renewal, many law firms decide to head to the newest, glitziest building on the market. But Stearns Weaver Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson’s leaders preferred to stay put in…

Miami law firm Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson PA has expanded and renewed its presence at Museum Tower, located at 150 W. Flagler St. in Miami, FL, taking a total of 110,000 square feet in the office building where its has had its South Florida offices since 1987.

The lease qualifies as the largest single office lease signed in 2014 in the city’s Central Business District, just edging out Akerman’s 108,000-SF office lease to anchor Miami’s Brickell City Centre, signed two months earlier. It represents a growing trend in the area: large firms are having difficulty finding class A space in downtown Miami, leading many to renew and expand at their current locations while completing ongoing upgrades to fit their needs.

“Miami’s legal sector is thriving as new investment pours into the market, putting law firms in position to grow their practices while making smart, forward-looking improvements to their offices,” explains Carol Brooks, president and co-founder of CREC

“After evaluating buildings in Miami’s urban core, we decided that expanding and upgrading our current space at Museum Tower was the best long-term move for our firm,” says Rick Schatz, shareholder and managing director at Stearns Weaver Miller.”The physical and technological improvements we’ve made over the years, coupled with our Flagler Street location and proximity to the courthouse, puts us in position to remain efficient while serving our clients.”

Stearns Weaver Miller has undertaken a series of office upgrades over the years, including the addition of a full-service mock courtroom. The firm is planning additional improvements to its new space, while upgrades along Flagler Street will enhance the streetscape outside Museum Tower.

Museum Tower is a 29-story, 243,166-square-foot, 4-Star office tower constructed in 1987 in downtown Miami. It features 12-foot slabs, on-site banking and restaurant, and covered parking.

“Miami’s legal sector is thriving as new investment pours into the market, putting law firms in position to grow their practices while making smart, forward-looking improvements to their offices,” explains Carol Brooks, president and co-founder of CREC. “Though Stearns Weaver Miller could have moved to any number of Class-A buildings, they are doubling down on Flagler Street because they value the investments they’ve made in their offices to date and believe this location puts them in position to grow.” Carol Brooks and Steven Hurwitz, senior vice president with CREC represented the tenant. Kirk Fetter, vice president with Dallas-based Gaedeke Group represented the landlord in-house.

Market watchers agree there will always be demand for commercially-zoned land in South Beach but see other areas growing in popularity and value.

Land in the downtown Miami area is just picking up steam compared with Brickell, said Jason Katz, vice president for the Aztec Group. “Zoning is the most ripe in the central business district,” he said. “It’s the densest neighborhood with the highest available height [allowed].”

Developers are buying big retail strips, Mr. Katz said and paying anywhere from $350 to $700 per square foot for the land.

“Before this market cycle, Flagler Street and Miami Avenue weren’t getting as much attention,” he said/ “In the past three years, however, with Miami Worldcenter and the announcement of All Aboard Florida, people saw a more defined neighborhood with major job generators and retail centers.

Prices for commercially-zoned land are highest in South Beach and Brickell but are rising in other markets, Mr Katz said. When he first came to Avatar, land prices in Edgewater were about $100 per square foot but now have risen to $300 per square foot.

Now, Mr. Katz said, there are high-rise luxury condos along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor and a lot of retail coming. “There aren’t a lot of tenants, but a lot is planned for what will be a hot retail corridor.”

The market is getting back to normal as developers realize people want to live in a variety of buildings, whether high-rise or smaller, said Peter Mekras, Senior Vice President at CREC. “Demand is broader now.”

Pricing continues to increase in urban infill areas because residential demand continues, he said but suburban trends are on the upswing anywhere east of I-95 and close to main corridors. He pointed to Doral, parts of South Dade and Homestead as areas where demand is increasing.

There’s very little land left, especially in the urban core, said Jim Shindell, partner at Bilzin Sumberg and the firms real estate practice group chair. He said demand is growing for land extending from the Design District to the north and Coconut Grove to the south.

Mr. Shindell said the sale of a 1.4-acre site at 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way in July for $125 million caught everyone’s attention.

He said other prices have been “hefty” and it will take time before it’s clear what’s expensive, given that buyers have different objectives.

It’s not so much the closed land sales that drive value but, rather, how a parcel can be used, said Mr. Mekras.

In some areas, potential use is limited, Mr. Shindell said. “Condos give returns that will cover the cost of the land.”

He points to the increasing cranes on the skyline in Edgewater and said that area will be transformed.

Demand remains high for waterfront land, said Jeff Cohen, senior vice president of the commercial division for Avatar Real Estate services. “Prices are crazy,” he said. “there’s virtually no more land available on the waterfront.”

Mr. Cohen said areas where there’s current demand for commercially-zoned land include Miami Beach, Surfside, Coconut Grove and – although diminishing a bit – Sunny Isles.

People are paying to own assets in the urban area, Mr. Shindell said. “Prices increased when we came out of the downturn and the world got its feet under itself,” he said. “Then prices went up more substantially as land was acquired for condo development.”

The downtown area “got its legs and transformed itself to an area it wasn’t before,” Mr. Shindell said. “there’s an effect on an asset class now that people want to work and live there.

At the end of the last cycle when Steven Hurwitz was marketing condo offices in Doral, the project was by his own admission a flop. Then the crash and the recovery happened, 2011 rolled around, and the senior vice president at Coral Gables based Continental Real Estate Cos. brokered the sale of 90,000 square feet of Class A office condos in that city, achieving a sellout…

More than 2 million square feet of retail space is under construction or planned in MiamiDade County, most of which is coming online in Miami’s urban core. Much more than traditional shopping malls, master-planned projects such as Brickell City Centre, Miami World Center and the redeveloped Design District are introducing consumers to a retail model centered on lifestyle experiences within mixed-use environments…

Shopping is alive and well in Miami, say industry experts, with the majority of its malls and outdoor centers reaping the benefits. The retail market is as strong as it’s been since the last peak around 2007…